


who are those people?

by desperat



Series: Dick Harrington Don't Know What He's Doing [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Awkwardness, Dick is trying, M/M, Neil Hargrove's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27687925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desperat/pseuds/desperat
Summary: Dick is hungover and there are even more people in his house. Good thing Billy's cooking is excellent.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Dick Harrington Don't Know What He's Doing [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024747
Comments: 12
Kudos: 121





	who are those people?

Saturday is quiet. Both Billy and Steve seem to be at work the whole day and the house is eerily empty, but Richard enjoys silence. He catches up with work, drink exceeding amounts of coffee and tries to level it with equal amount of whiskey.

That proves unwise about 9 am on Sunday, when he’s woken up with loud voices coming up from the first floor.

‘You really shouldn’t be here, Max’ hisses Billy.

That wakes him up momentarily. Billy seemed like a quiet young man, but he _does_ have a demeanor of a hooligan. Is he bringing strangers to their house on the regular basis?

Richard swears quietly and fights vague nausea as he goes to investigate.

He’s not sure what did he expect, but it wasn’t two middle-schoolers.

‘What get into you Billy?’ asks an agitated red-headed girl. ‘Steve’s cool with us hanging out here on Sundays, he always says so!’

‘Yeah, are you being asshole again?’ chimed in boy, standing next to her. He squinted at Billy suspiciously.

Richard vaguely remembered a conversation he had with his son at some point last year when Steve mentioned babysitting some middle-schoolers. He guessed, that must be them, even though he didn’t know why would those kids needed babysitting on Sunday, sure their folks would be home?

‘Hello’ he said, cutting Billy’s explanation and finally coming down the stairs and into their view. ‘So how many people live in this house, truly?’ he asked, directing the question at Billy.

Kids paled and Billy looked shifty. ‘Sorry, Mr. Harrington’ he said, hand clasping at the girl’s shoulder. ‘That’s my sister, Max, and that’s Sinclair. Steve’s kinda babysitting them and some other kids. So they hang out here, sometimes. They can- we can go.’

God, Richard started to feel like and intruder in his own house. But well, if Billy was living here because of his father, then he supposed sending this girl back to that man wouldn’t be advisable.

‘Just- keep quiet’ he sighed.

*

Both Max and her friend had apparent troubles keeping quiet, because every few minutes their voices would get to the shrilling level, when Billy usually intervened in hissing, angry voice. Richard sipped water slowly, reclining in his chair and trying to watch TV.

His stomach grumbled. Perfectly at this moment, Billy appeared in the doorway. ‘Mr. Harrington, I made breakfast? Do you want it here?’

Richard blinked. It was unexpected, but breakfast definitely was welcomed. ‘I’ll eat in the kitchen, thank you.’

Breakfast smelled great, and, judging by the speed at which kids was stuffing their faces with it, it had to taste fantastic. They froze for a moment, when he sat up at the table, but quickly recovered, talking to each other in hushed voices, chewing with their mouths half opened. Billy put a full plate and cup of coffee in front of him, and sat down himself.

It was very awkward.

‘So, Billy. You have a job, right?’ he tried to start a conversation.

Kid’s knuckles went white as he clenched his fists. ‘I help at the garage. I mean, as a mechanic? Hop- Chief Hopper, I mean, he’s helping me find something more permanent.’

Richard hummed, deciding to file the information that Billy was, apparently, on first name- well, nickname basis with Hawkins’ chief of police for later. ‘Are you still in school?’

Billy bared his teeth for a second. It seemed like civil conversation physically pained him. His sister and her friend both looked somewhat spooked.

‘I dropped out. When I turned 18. Just a few weeks ago.’

‘And why is that?’

Richard wasn’t stupid, it was obviously a sore topic for Billy, but for God’s sake, he had a right to know these things about someone who he was apparently housing for free. Even if he made excellent eggs.

The boy looked him straight in the eyes, as he drawled, through clenched teeth. ‘When I stopped going home. My dad would go to school. To get me. Was tired of making scenes. So I stopped going.’

He suspected it was that. Next question he directed at Max. ‘Are you okay, living with your dad?’

Suddenly, everybody at the table looked startled. Sinclair was constantly looking between Max and her brother, she blinked rapidly at Richard and Billy straighten up in his chair, looking like he was getting ready for a confrontation.

Max schooled her face into neutral expression, as she said, ‘He’s Billy’s dad, not mine. He doesn’t get like that with me or my mom. Just with Billy’. Her expression changed a bit. ‘And what do _you_ care, either way?’ she spat, ignoring Billy’s hissing ‘Max!’.

But Richard handled countless agitated investors in his life, he surely could calmly handle thirteen-year-old girl. ‘Well, since it’s 10 in the morning on Sunday, I’m sure you can understand why I’m wondering, why are you at mine, not your house?’

Max huffed and Billy looked ready to say something, but he was interrupted by Sinclair kid. ‘It’s because of me. Max’s not allowed to date me, so when we want to hang out, we have to go to our friends, or here.’

Kid was calm, collected, but there was fire in his eyes. God, Richard really hoped that he left middle-school drama behind him when Steve get to high school. He really feels like he should send both kids to their respective houses or at least to Sinclair’s house, but he has a hunch that he doesn’t what to know what reasons Billy’s father have to ban Max from dating this boy.

‘Okay. Okay, but for the love of God, please, try to be quiet. Or go play in the backyard. I’m going to be in the study’ he nodded his head at Billy.

Excited screaming erupted as soon as he got to the stairs. Goddammit.

*

Steve woke up at noon. Richard was drinking his third coffee, as he watched his son stumble to the kitchen and plant a lazy kiss at Billy’s head. Other boy batted at him, promptly delegating Steve to chop some carrots.

Goddammit.

**Author's Note:**

> if you find any typos that's because I didn't even reread this. if you liked it please leave kudos, if you hated it- tell me why!


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